Life Without the Gods
by Lacy Mikkanen Tremain
Summary: Percy and Annabeth meet in high school. No gods, no monsters, just the ups and downs of being a teenager in high school.


**Hey guys! So for my first attempt at fanfiction, I decided to do a story where Percy and Annabeth are not demigods and just meet in high school. It's my first story so I'm a little nervous, but please review and tell me what you think! Disclaimer: All PJO and HoO characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

_Annabeth_

Annabeth walked down the halls of her new school, a map clutched in her hand. She was nervous and scared, yet determined not to let it show. She got to her locker and unlocked it on her second try. After depositing the few school supplies she had, she looked at her class schedule. She had transferred to Goode High School after moving to New York over the summer and she wasn't happy about it. After her sophomore year at her old high school in San Francisco, she had finally gotten used to the way the school worked, only to be transferred to a new school. She was a junior but she felt like a freshman all over again. It was humiliating.

Annabeth clicked the lock on the side of her phone to check the time. She had a few minutes before she had to go to her first class. After double checking her map to make sure she knew where her first class was, she grabbed a notebook and a pen. She considered taking her map with her, but decided against it. She could stop by her locker between classes. The bell rang and Annabeth took a deep breath and shut her locker. She turned to the right direction and started walking to U.S. History.

_Percy_

Percy set his backpack down on his desk. Mr. Willis didn't give them assigned seats so he just picked a seat and sat down. He put his ear buds in and started scrolling through his phone for a good song. He jumped slightly when a hand clapped on his shoulder. He looked up and was surprised to see his best friend, Jason.

"Hey I thought you were moving to California!" Jason sat down next to Percy, a stupid grin on his face.  
"I convinced my parents to let me stay here with my uncle until I graduate." Percy took out his headphones and stuffed them in his pocket.  
"And you don't think that was something you should have told me?" Jason laughed and leaned back in his chair, putting his feet on the desk.  
"I wanted to surprise you." Percy leaned over and punched him on the shoulder as the bell rang. Mr. Willis walked up to the front of class and started calling roll. He always went backwards on the roll, from Z to A so "Jackson, Percy" was called before "Grace, Jason." He recognized all the names that were called except a "Dare, Rachel" a redhead who sat behind him and a "Chase, Annabeth" a blonde who sat in front of him. After roll was called, he leaned over to Jason.  
"Two new girls. Maybe they'll be cute and I can finally get a girlfriend." Jason laughed and shook his head.  
"I highly doubt that. It took me a year to get Piper and I'm way sexier than you." Piper McLean was Jason's girlfriend, a drop dead gorgeous girl who usually kept to herself. Since Piper and Jason had started dating, he had become good friends with her.  
"Speaking of Piper, have you told her that you're not moving?" The blood drained from Jason's face and Percy started laughing. "You're screwed."

_Annabeth_

Annabeth walked out of her first hour, slightly frustrated. Even though they hadn't learned anything, the guys sitting behind her grated her nerves. They had talked and laughed the whole class hour like they weren't in the middle of school. If this was how it was going to be all year, she'd have to move seats.

Annabeth headed back to her locker to check her map and go to her next class, but stopped short when she saw a couple standing right in front of it, their faces seemingly glued together. Panicking slightly, she started of thinking of a plan, a way to get them to move when a voice behind her made her jump.  
"You lost?" She turned around to see the guy that sat behind her in first hour. She went back to looking at the couple in front of her locker.  
"I'm fine." The guy behind her chuckled softly and stepped in front of her, "Do you need anything out of your locker? That's just Katie and Travis. I can get them to move." So he had guessed her predicament, but she was unimpressed. She didn't know him but first hour wasn't a great impression. Still, he was her only option.  
"I just don't know where my second hour is. It's AP Calculus." After she said this, the guy whistled slightly.  
"So you're smart. Well that's in the math building. It's down here." He started walking down a long hall and Annabeth followed him, catching glimpses of him as they walked. He was almost a full head taller than her. His black hair was unruly and he kept running his hands through it unconsciously. His best feature was his eyes. They were a beautiful sea green, a color that she had never seen in someone's eyes.  
"I'm Percy, by the way," he said as they walked down the hall. Annabeth looked at him and smiled slightly.  
"I'm Annabeth."  
"Well, Annabeth, it's nice to meet you." They got to the math building and Percy told her which room it was. After hesitating for a second, he grabbed her hand. She stiffened and he pulled out a pen and started writing.  
"This is my phone number, if you need anything else. Let me know." She thanked him and he walked back in the school building, his hands in his pockets. When she got in to class and sat in her assigned seat, she stared at her hand. She had overheard bits and pieces of his conversation in first hour and what she heard didn't impress her. He didn't seem to be all that intelligent, but he was attractive and he was nice to her.

Shaking her head, she sighed quietly. It was her first day. She didn't need to get involved with anyone. She didn't want to. Still, she entered his number in her phone.

_Percy_

Percy walked through the commons after the lunch bell rang, looking for Jason. They had an open campus lunch policy and he definitely didn't want to stay. Percy spotted Jason at his locker and headed that way.  
"So that redhead, Rachel, was in my second hour," Percy said as a greeting. "She's really into art. She showed me some stuff that she had in her sketchbook. Looks like it might take me less than a year."  
"Yes because the only step after showing you some drawings is marriage," Jason retorted. Percy rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone out of his pocket when it started vibrating.  
"It's your girlfriend," he told Jason before answering.  
"Hey what's up Pipes?" Piper's voice, slightly out of breath, sounded in his ear.  
"Hey Percy. Are we still on for lunch today?" Percy looked at Jason and grinned.  
"Oh definitely. I'm at the edge of the junior hall, closest to the commons." He started scanning the crowds of people and saw Piper making her way over. He waved at her and hung up his phone then turned to Jason.  
"Well now's your chance." Jason looked at him, bewildered, then saw Piper and scratched his arm nervously. Piper got to where Percy was standing and stopped dead when she saw Jason. Her facial expression went from surprise to joy to anger in about five seconds. She stepped towards Jason and slapped him across his face. Percy had to force his laughter down.  
"You're supposed to be in California!" Jason smiled weakly,  
"Surprise?" Piper rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her. Percy groaned and pushed them apart.  
"None of that. Let's go to lunch." Jason just grinned at him as he grabbed Piper's hand and followed Percy out of the building.


End file.
